


Relative Relations

by seraphichan



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, Maybe (lots of characters pop up and I haven't decided whether to list them all or not haha), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, also I'm horrible at summaries and titles and i apologize
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-03-13 19:53:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3394283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphichan/pseuds/seraphichan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi had told anyone who had ever asked that he didn't have any relatives, and it was something he thought to be irrefutable fact. Until now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When Levi peeled his eyes open he was met with a broad expanse of skin. The sight slightly disoriented him, so he closed his eyes as his mind ticked through memories of the night before. He had gone for a drink, expectations low, but then he had met the man named Mike. Barely two beers under his belt and Levi was already captivated by the way he talked and laughed, gentle yet clear and strong, and it was no time at all before Levi was practically dragging the man out of the bar, half hard in his pants and unable to stay his lust.

Levi opened his eyes again, this time blinking rapidly in order to clear his vision, and tilted his head back a bit in order to take a better look at the still sleeping man; the shaggy hair and strong jaw covered with a neatly kept beard, the rise and fall of his chest and the light coating of golden body hair on it that was as soft as down, and, to his extreme satisfaction, the results of his previous night’s work - the areas of skin he had scratched and bitten and sucked. He shifted slightly and pressed a hand briefly to his own neck and trailed it along his collarbone, sure that he had a matching set.

He laid there a few more moments in bliss before sighing softly. As much as he wanted to lounge in bed the rest of the morning, surrounded by the warmth of another person and reveling in the pleasant pulse of his sore hips and ass, he knew he had to get up. Deadlines waited for no man, even those as thoroughly fucked and content as Levi, so carefully, and with some reluctance, he extracted himself from the tangle of long limbs and rolled to the other side of the bed. He stood and stretched until he heard a series of cracks and pops from his shoulders and back, then shuffled to the bathroom quietly.

After taking a leak, Levi went about the task of eradicating the sour taste left on his tongue from a night of sucking cock. He hummed as he brushed, admiring himself in the mirror. He had guessed correctly, there were clusters of deep purple bruises peppered on his skin and the distinct mark of teeth at the juncture of his neck and shoulder.

As he was finishing, and contemplating whether he had time for a shower before his guest woke up, he heard the rustling of sheets. He quickly rinsed and spit, depositing the brush back in it’s chrome holder, before going to stand in the door of the bedroom and leaning against the frame as he watched the man sit up and rub at the scruff on his face.

“Morning,” Mike said through a wide-mouthed yawn.

“Morning.” Levi waited a beat as the man yawned once more. “Do you want coffee?”

“Only if you promise to make it in the buff,” Mike replied, unashamedly eyeing Levi in all his naked glory and smirking.

“Don’t be dumb. That’s unsanitary,” Levi snarked back, willing the shiver that threatened to run up his spine at the man’s wolfish grin to go away.

Mike hummed in return, a small amused smile still on his lips, and started picking up his clothes that were scattered about the floor, putting them on as he found them. Levi sneered slightly at the thought of putting on clothes before properly cleaning off, especially ones that were previously worn and most likely very dirty.

“You can use the shower if you want,” he supplied. He would not admit to also offering with the hope that the man would accept so Levi could get in there with him.

“Tempting, but no. I have to stop at home to change and get things for work, anyway, so I’ll take one there.”

It was Levi’s turn to hum as Mike finished buttoning up his shirt, and, after a failed attempt at running his hand through his hair to make it look less disheveled, the man walked over to Levi and paused next to him in the doorway.

“Maybe we’ll see each other again?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you around.” And Levi meant it, truly hoped for it, so when Mike leaned down to press a quick kiss to his lips he didn’t deny him, he even let him nuzzle his neck and do that sniffing thing he had done last night in the bar. Levi thought it was a little weird, but he also sort of liked the way the man’s mustache brushed his skin and gave him goosebumps.

Levi’s gaze followed Mike to the door and he nodded to the small wave Mike gave him before he left, the door clicking shut behind him. Levi didn’t move from his spot in the doorway for a few minutes, staring at where Mike was just standing with a faint feeling of longing seeping into his chest, but then he roused himself with a quick shake of his head and went back to the bathroom to take a much needed shower and start the rest of his day.

*  
*  
*

One shower and a hot cup of tea later, Levi was opening his laptop, already grumbling at the multitudes of emails he would need to sift through before he could even hope to focus on his actual work.

The first of said emails was from his editor reminding him that his deadline was due at the end of the week and that he wouldn’t be getting another extension, don’t even try that sick dog shit again because he wasn’t going to fall for it this time. Levi scoffed and rolled his eyes, deleting the email in order to keep himself from replying in a way that was sure to get him into more trouble than it was worth. There were twenty-three emails from Erwin. Levi didn’t bother opening them, he already knew they were almost entirely pictures of his kids, Armin and Eren, which Levi would never admit to looking through and smiling at sometimes, so he dragged and dropped them into a folder named ‘Commander Doting Dad’ to deal with later. The last few were forwarded from the account he had made in order to receive fan mail addressed to his pen name, Magnolia Church, to which he replied with generic ‘Thank you’s and awkward advice when asked for it.

Finished with that, Levi closed his web browser and opened the expansive word document that contained his manuscript. He only had one chapter, and some tweaks, left and he felt confident that he could have everything done by the end of the day if he concentrated hard enough. As he began to furiously type, a wave of motivation suddenly striking him, his phone rang. Groaning, he glanced at the lit up screen.

It wasn’t a number Levi recognized so his instinct was to ignore it, but the last time he had done that it had been Hange calling him from a payphone. Her cellphone had died while shopping, apparently there had been a very interesting growth on the fountain in the mall and she needed to have so many pictures of it that she had inadvertently murdered her battery. There had been a sale on all things cleaning and sanitation at a bed and bath store, and, Hange had told him later, there was no way she could have lived with herself if she didn’t tell him by any means necessary, even outdated communication technology that Levi had seriously thought was just a prop along the wall by the bathrooms he refused to use. Needless to say when he didn’t answer she hadn’t let him hear the end of it for over a month, not to mention there was the deep regret he felt for not being able to take advantage of such a sale, so he picked up his cell, sighing heavily, and hit the green button, cradling the phone between his ear and shoulder.

“Hello?” he mumbled into the receiver, trying to listen while at the same time continuing to type. Like hell he was going to lose his train of thought due to some stupid phone call, potential cleaning supply sale or not.

“Good morning, am I speaking to a Mr. Levi Ackerman?”

“Yeah. Who’s this?”

“My name is Rico Brzenska and I am calling on behalf of the Rose County District Courthouse.”

All thoughts came to a very abrupt halt.

*  
*  
*

Levi had been to the courthouse on many different occasions in his youth - theft, vandalism, and an assorted amount of other misdemeanors that were too numerous to keep track of. It had been seven years since those transgressions, thanks to the interference of a certain meddling couple and their inability to just leave him the hell alone, and in all that time he had seen nothing beyond the marble steps and thick oak doors.

The place still needed a decent cleaning.

Hunching his shoulders, and giving a wide berth to what looked and smelled like a homeless man slumped on one of the benches that lined the entranceway, he walked up to the reception desk, his fingers twitching restlessly before he decided to shove them in the pockets of his pants to still them. He cleared his throat softly gaining the attention of the blonde haired secretary, her sharp silver eyes studying him from behind her glasses and not helping, at all, with how on edge he felt.

“Hello, sir, how can I help you today?”

“Uh, hi, I got a call earlier this week about a custody hearing and I was scheduled to come to the courthouse today.”

“Do you have the documentation that should have been sent to you via email?”

“Yeah,” he said, pulling out the paperwork he had printed from where it was crisply folded in his back pocket and flattening it against the countertop before handing it to the woman. She took it from him with a murmured thank you and set it next to her computer, her eyes flitting over the paper and her fingers quickly and efficiently entering different information onto the screen before speaking to Levi again.

“Well, Mr. Ackerman, all your information seems to be in order. I just need to take a quick picture to put on your identification. Look here,” she pointed at a small camera bolted to the desk and snapped a picture as soon as Levi’s eyes found it, the tiny flash temporarily blinding him and causing his eyes to water. As she clicked around on her computer, Levi coming to the conclusion that he would not get a redo no matter what he happened to look like, he edged forward and leaned against the counter, until the woman gave him her undivided attention once more.

“Look, I think there’s a mistake. I don’t have a kid, I can’t,” Levi spoke quickly, desperately trying to somehow portray through body language and eye contact alone that he was into tall men with big dicks and therefore couldn’t have impregnated anyone. “And I don’t have any relatives, none that I’ve ever known, so I don’t think-”

“Yes, yes,” the woman interrupted, not unkindly, “so you said before.”

Levi stared at her in confusion for a moment before his eyes slid over to the name plaque on the desk that read ‘Rico Brzenska’ in blocky white letters on a black background. His mouth formed a small ‘o’ in recognition.

“And as I said before,” Rico continued, “there’s nothing I can do about it. Don’t shoot the messenger as they say.”

Levi sighed and leaned back, shifting on his feet in an attempt to calm his nerves, failing spectacularly when he jumped in response to the printer next to Rico clicking to life.

“Here is your visitor’s pass.” Rico slid the temporary identification tag across the countertop once she had finished putting it together, a smile tugging at her lips as she watched Levi take it and clip it to the front of his t-shirt. “You need to go to the second floor, room twelve, after checking in with security,” she waved absently to her left as she spoke. “And,” she added before Levi could fully resign himself to heading down the hallway towards the daunting frame of the metal detector, “this is just some personal advice but, try not to look like you’re going to be sick.”

*  
*  
*

Twenty minutes later Levi didn’t just look like he was going to be sick, he actually felt it, and he was ninety percent sure that he was going to pass out if someone didn’t open at least one damn window. He focused on breathing deeply through his nose, a technique he had learned and mastered over several years of having to deal with a very excitable bespectacled brunette, and he managed to regain control over himself, though just barely.

Levi had told Rico that he didn’t have any relatives, had told that to anyone who had ever asked, and it was something he thought to be irrefutable fact. Until now.

He could probably have argued against the research done and somehow spit on all the paperwork proof, even if there was a very official looking seal stamped on them, but there was no denying that they shared certain features - grey eyes that shone like steel, black hair and a pale complexion, the uncanny ability to look bored but attentive - and that was what ultimately convinced Levi that, through some very twisted branch on his newly discovered and very existent family tree, he was an uncle to the nine year old girl that sat at the table in front of him.

“So, Mr. Ackerman, there is a lot of preliminary paperwork to do, questions and information we need to have answered and filled out. Would you like to proceed or do you have some objections you would like to voice?”

Levi realized that this was his out, they were handing it to him on a silver platter. But he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t bring himself to abandon her, this girl who sort of looked like him; this girl who, for whatever reason, had no family left to take care of her but an obscure uncle she had never met; this girl who was staring at him like she expected him to do nothing for her and all Levi wanted was to prove her wrong. So he sat down in the chair across the table from the magistrate, next to this girl whose name was Mikasa, folding his arms on the smooth wood and saying in a voice that he didn’t quite recognize as his own -

“I’m ready.”

\- even though he felt nothing of the sort.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Then suddenly, and perhaps a little crazily, he found himself thinking of Mike.

“Is it good?” Levi asked as he watched Mikasa stick another forkful of macaroni and cheese into her mouth.

He had no idea what kids liked to eat, but he assumed, given the amount of it that Erwin and Hange’s kids seemed to inhale, that it was a safe enough bet. That didn’t keep him from worrying about it, though, and he ended up boiling the noodles too long, half of them sticking to the bottom of the pot and the other half so overloaded with cheese sauce that it would probably serve better as plaster than something edible. It was embarrassing. What kind of adult couldn’t properly make macaroni and cheese from a box?

“It’s good,” Mikasa replied after she finished chewing. Her next bite was twice the size of the one before, which she seemed to do on purpose in order to emphasize this.

“Good. That’s good. Really...good.” Levi grimaced down at the cup of tea he was nursing and mentally slapped himself. The food was good, that was well established, even if he didn’t entirely believe it, but now that he was done repeating it like some sort of parrot he didn’t know what else to say.

Not that Mikasa seemed like one for conversation either. Earlier when the magistrate had talked to her or asked her questions she had given short and simple replies, otherwise keeping a silent vigil over the proceedings, preferring to observe rather than participate. Yes, even in this way Mikasa was like him. And yet...she wasn’t at all.

When Levi was a kid, being placed in foster home after foster home, he was wary of everyone and everything. He allowed no one to touch him, if he could help it, and he only ate the meals in front of him out of the need to survive, not any sort of enjoyment. So Levi considered it a good thing that she wasn’t entirely like him. He felt some strange sort of relief when she didn’t pull her hand away when he held it as they crossed the street to wait at the bus stop, and when they were standing on the crowded bus and Levi had steadied her with his hand on her shoulder when they hit a particularly nasty pothole she didn’t flinch, and now here she was eating the very poorly made dinner he had provided with something akin to gusto.

They said some children were good at reading people, like how animals could sense the changes in the weather. Levi was a small man with a large amount of anxiety about the entire situation, and it seemed MIkasa was one of those children that was astute enough to pick that up.

“-anything.”

“Huh?” Levi blinked and looked up from his tea, pulled from his thoughts and slightly ashamed that he hadn’t been paying attention.

“I’ll eat almost anything,” Mikasa repeated. “I’m not too picky, so you don’t have to worry so much.”

“Oh,” Levi replied. Very astute indeed. “Thank you,” he tacked on awkwardly after a short pause.

Mikasa nodded and placed her fork on her now empty plate.

“Did you want anything else?” Levi would immediately work at redeeming his culinary credibility if the opportunity was given.

“No,” she paused, seeming to think of something, “but can I take a bath?”

“Sure,” Levi said, secretly pleased that Mikasa seemed to understand the need to be clean. He stood from the table and led her to the bathroom. “Towels are in here.” He opened the door to the linen closet in the hallway, allowing her to pick a fluffy white towel from its confines. “Do you need shampoo or…?”

“I have some.”

“Right.” It was probably part of what was in the black suitcase Levi had carried home from the courthouse. The monstrous thing was two-thirds his height, the width of his shoulders and heavy as hell, and most likely contained all of her possessions.

Levi waited until Mikasa collected the necessary things from her bag and then retreated to the bathroom before he returned to the table, gathering her plate and his cup, and taking them to the kitchen to wash them. He was nervous and fidgety, and the only way he could think of to alleviate that problem was to clean, so after the dishes were dried and put away, he went to the second bedroom of the apartment, where Mikasa would be staying once they got her some furniture, and went to work.

*  
*  
*

By the time Mikasa emerged from the bathroom, hair towel dried and ready for bed, Levi had done all but vacuum the space. The last time he had vacuumed past eight at night his neighbors downstairs had thrown colossal temper tantrums that would have put a five year old to shame, so he left that for the next day.

He got Mikasa a glass of water from the kitchen before following behind as she walked to his room. He stood in the doorway, waiting as she set the glass on the nightstand, climbed into the bed, and slid under the covers.

“I’ll be on the couch, so if you need anything...” he trailed off as she nodded once and closed her eyes. Levi watched her a few moments before he flicked the switch, bathing the room in darkness, and swung the door near to closed, leaving only a sliver of brightness from the dimmed hallway light to shine in. He stopped by the bathroom to brush his teeth, opting to take a shower the following morning, then grabbed a spare blanket from the linen closet and settled in on the couch.

The day hadn’t gone too badly considering Levi had all the parenting prowess of a rock. Of course it was only one day. He had tomorrow to mess up and the day after and the week after and the month after and-

Levi closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He wasn’t doing himself any good by working himself up, and he certainly wasn’t doing Mikasa any good either. He would just have to do his best, no regrets. And first on the list of things to do was to get her the best bedroom set he could afford as soon as possible because this couch was damn uncomfortable no matter how many times he punched the cushions.

He admitted to himself that he felt a little better with a planned course of action, even if it was just one thing, but in the back of his mind lurked all the things he still needed to do: enroll her in school, set up a savings account for her, give her...the talk. Then suddenly, and perhaps a little crazily, he found himself thinking of Mike. Wishing that he was here. Sure, he had met him at a bar, and had known him, in a very limited sense, for all of three days, but some gut feeling told Levi he was the type of guy who would be good with kids, good with a family, good at life in general. And before he knew it Levi was envisioning them doing all sorts of domestic things together like going grocery shopping, taking turns making breakfast and dinner, walking Mikasa to the park, and fighting about what reruns to watch on television before settling on a shitty movie that they would talk through anyway.

It was ridiculous. Ridiculously enchanting.

Ignoring the flush that was steadily coloring his face, Levi turned so that his body was crushed into the cushions of the back of couch and he fell asleep trying not to imagine they were something, or rather someone, else.

*  
*  
*

“Ready?”

“Ready,” Mikasa answered as she finished tying her shoes and stood to straighten her skirt.

Levi had woken up that morning at the crack of dawn, half hanging off the couch and a tension headache pressing against his temples. Needless to say he did not get a good night’s rest, but it was nothing a few ibuprofen, a hot shower, and a cup of tea couldn’t fix. When Mikasa had come out from the bedroom a few hours later, rubbing sleepy eyes and yawning, he made them both eggs and toast, once again secretly pleased with her attitude towards cleanliness when she offered to help him dry the dishes. Afterwards they got dressed and had a very quiet, but companionable, teeth brushing session, and then they were ready to tackle the day.

“If you get hungry,” Levi started to say as he reached for the front door to the apartment and began to open it, “let me know and we’ll-”

Levi stopped short, barely managing to keep himself from walking out and slamming into the person standing on the other side. Scowling, he looked up, his expression morphing into one of barely contained surprise as he took in the shaggy blonde hair, the immaculately trimmed mustache and beard, and the large hand raised like it was about to knock.

“Mike?”

“Hello, Mr. Ackerman,” Mike greeted, putting his hand back by his side and smiling.

Levi arched one eyebrow and stared at him. Mr. Ackerman? What the hell was that? Levi was prepared for him to show up out of the blue - he had a policy of never giving out his phone number when he first met someone, even if they were tall and perfect, and coming to Levi’s apartment was the only way they could see each other again aside from another chance bar encounter - but to call him by his last name? How did he even know what it was? It wasn’t impossible to find, but it wasn’t like Levi flaunted it.

“And you must be Mikasa.” Mike crouched down and extended his hand to Mikasa, who hesitated briefly before taking it and giving it one firm shake, as Levi’s mind continued to whir in confusion. 

He knew Mikasa’s name too? How did-

Levi’s eyes widened and he sucked in a short, sharp breath as realization dawned on him.

“My name is Mike Zacharias, and I will be your acting Child and Family Social Services worker.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi swallowed hard. This man knew exactly what he was doing. This man, this glorious hunk of man, was fucking with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I just want to start out by giving a big thank you to everyone who has read/commented/bookmarked/given kudos on this story. It means so much to me to have your support - you all are so freaking awesome!!! I hope you continue to enjoy it, and thank you again :3

Levi was caught at the crossroads of laughing and crying, either of which he would do hysterically. This was definitely not what he meant when he wished Mike was here. He did revel in the small victory that was the correct assumption that Mike would be good with kids; he probably wouldn’t have the job otherwise. Still the more pressing matter was how to deal with the man without reflecting the complete turmoil he was going through on the inside.

“When they said within a week, I didn’t think they meant the very next day, Mr. Zacharias.” Levi said, using the same formality that Mike had. He decided to feign complete and total confidence, even if he did not feel it. Years of schooling his facial expression into something impassive and unimpressed certainly helped with that.

“Please, call me Mike,” the man said with a smile. Levi was very tempted to stick his tongue out at him. “I realize it might be a bit soon, but I was eager to come see the both of you.”

“Well, we were just leaving, so....”

“Where to?”

“Places.”

“Mr. Ackerman-”

“Please, call me Levi.”

“Levi,” Mike said and he lifted his eyebrows, showing that he wasn’t all that amused by Levi’s behavior and that he wanted more of an explanation.

Levi’s first instinct was to bolt, run down the stairs and out of the building, dragging Mikasa along behind him. Mike had long legs, but Levi was quick, and he was sure, even with the addition of another person, he could outrun the taller man. But, he reasoned moments later, such an action probably wouldn’t look good - and they couldn’t get very far, anyway, with Mike taking up the entire doorway like some sort of dopey giant - so he sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, before he spoke again.

“She needs stuff for her bedroom, furniture and all that.”

“Sounds fun. Maybe I should come.”

Levi was caught off guard by the idea. “Is that...normal?” he asked skeptically.

Mike gave a shrug that said no. “I cleared the whole day for this visit, always do for first times. I can wait for you to get back, but I think it would be more telling to go along. I understand if it would be uncomfortable, though.”

Levi couldn’t help but snort. Of course it would be uncomfortable. What sort of normal person would be content with their one night stand turned child rearing judge following them around on a shopping trip for furniture? He was about to give Mike a look that said as much, but then he realized that Mike was not looking at him, but at Mikasa, and Levi was quickly reminded that, despite his and Mike’s short history, she was who the man was really there to see.

“If it’s okay with Mikasa, then it’s okay with me,” he addressed Mike as he spoke but turned his attention towards the girl next to him.

Mikasa looked up at him and he nodded to assure her that it was her decision. She cast her gaze back on Mike and regarded him warily. Mike, for his part, took the inspection graciously. Eventually Mikasa said okay, and Levi was almost blinded by the sunny smile Mike gave in return.

*  
*  
*

“I didn’t think you had a vehicle,” Mike mused after they had left the apartment complex, opening a manilla envelope Levi hadn’t taken notice of before and browsing through it.

“I don’t,” Levi replied, opening the sliding door of the mini van for Mikasa so she could climb in. “I’m borrowing it from some friends.”

Levi had called them earlier, before Mikasa was awake, and asked to use it for the day. Gunther had answered after the fifth ring and said, with a sleep scratched voice, that the van was all his. Eld and him were planning on spending yet another day in - Levi could guess at what they would be doing - since Jean, the boy they had adopted several years ago whom would be Mikasa’s age by now, wouldn’t need to be picked up from his grandparents’ house until Saturday. He went down the three flights to their apartment and got the keys while Gunther was still semi-conscious, thanking him and telling him he would explain later when the man wasn’t practically falling back asleep standing up.

“They’re good people,” Levi continued as he made sure Mikasa’s seatbelt was secure. Good people he was currently trying not to judge based on the scraps of paper, broken crayons, and general assembly of dirt on the floor. All of this was the mess a kid could make, and, seeing as Levi had one now, he was going to have to prepare himself for it. And what better way than to dive in headfirst, questionable sticky spot on the back of the driver’s seat and all.

Once he was sure Mikasa was strapped in tight and that the sliding door was firmly shut, Levi went around the van and got behind the wheel. He pointedly ignored how Mike, who was already sitting in the passenger’s seat by the time he made his way around, seemed to be holding back a laugh because of Levi having to adjust every single damn thing to accommodate his height. He slowly eased out into traffic shortly after, quietly grumbling about how the van was as maneuverable as the stick up his editor’s ass, and drove down the packed road, delighted when they finally made it onto the highway.

Mike, Levi guessed, must have been waiting until Levi was out of the stressful congestion of the city, because as soon as they hit the interstate he cleared his throat and began asking some questions. He only asked a few things of Levi, things that he assured Levi were just to make sure he had matching information. Afterwards he turned slightly in his seat and started speaking to Mikasa. He asked her simple, mundane things, like how she slept and what she had for breakfast.

Levi let their voices fade into background noise as he drove, taking the time to assess the situation he found himself in. He could probably call the courthouse and get himself assigned a different social worker. But then he would have to tell them why. Any reason he gave, truthful or not, would reflect badly on Mike, and it’s not like Levi wanted that. He was sure Mike was excellent at his job; an idea that was reinforced just a few minutes later when he heard, to his surprise, a giggle. Levi almost drifted into the next lane with how he fast he looked into the rearview mirror and how long he watched Mikasa there, committing the little smile she had on her face to memory.

He wanted to know how to make Mikasa smile like that, how to talk to her, how to make her laugh. How to know if she was happy or upset, confident or unsure. How to tell by her reactions if he was doing something wrong or right.

And Mike could act as his teacher. As distractingly attractive a teacher as he was.

So when they parked at the shopping district and headed towards the Ikea together, Levi decided that maybe this situation wasn’t so bad afterall. Awkward as the coming days were most likely to be, he was determined to make it through them with his sanity intact or he would die trying.

*  
*  
*

Levi was dying.

It wasn’t that he was tired, though that certainly didn’t help. And it wasn’t that he just spent three hours putting together the most simplistic, yet simultaneously most complicated, bedroom furniture set he’d ever encountered. It wasn’t even that he had read the same email - an important one from his editor if the multitude of exclamation marks in the subject line was any indication - five times and retained nothing of what it said.

No, it was what had transpired just hours before all of that. He tried not to think about it, but in the end that just made him think about it more…

_“This was fun,” Mike said as he finished his sandwich._

_Mikasa nodded her agreement as she noisily sucked up the last of her milkshake, her legs swinging back and forth beneath their table._

_Levi wasn’t so convinced._

_True, the shopping had gone well. Other than the time it took to convince Mikasa that she could get anything she wanted for her room, not just the first, and cheapest, things she saw, everything had gone smoothly. He even managed to learn that her favorite color was almost any shade of red, though she seemed fond of a dusty rose hue as that was the one she chose for her sheets and pillows, and happened to be the color of the skirt she was currently wearing as well._

_But now here they were, at a tiny diner just outside the city, impossibly squeezed together at a table that desperately needed a good scrub down. Levi sat across the table from Mike and therefore spent the entire meal hyper aware of where his legs were in relation to the other man’s. Every time Mike moved, Levi would stiffen and wait for them to brush his own, nerves stretched thin like rubber bands ready to snap. Mike looked at ease, not seeming to take any notice of Levi’s distress, or if he was he was quite enjoying making the smaller man sweat. It was hard to tell what he was thinking because the smile he had worn since they had arrived had almost never left his face. This frustrated Levi to no end and, despite his resolution in the car, he was finding it increasingly difficult to keep a clear head._

_“Ready to go?” Mike asked and Levi, who had been so busy playing a mental game of tag with his thoughts, was startled by the question until he noticed how Mikasa was hop-scooting her chair back as much as the cramped quarters would allow._

_“Bathroom first,” she said, squeezing herself into the aisle and then carefully weaving her way between tables and wait staff towards the back of the diner. Levi watched her go and, as soon as she was out of earshot, took the opportunity to pointedly look at Mike and his still cheerful face._

_“You think this is funny, don’t you?”_

_“What?”_

_“_ This _,” Levi gestured grandly between Mike and himself and the chair Mikasa had been sitting in._

_“A little,” was Mike’s reply from behind his cup as he took another sip of coffee._

_Levi rubbed at his temples and closed his eyes. He had acquired a new headache that was slowly trumping the intensity of the one from that morning._

_“Relax,” Mike said gently._

_Levi looked at him disbelievingly. “How do you expect me to relax?”_

_Mike, realising the question was rhetorical, shrugged and sat his now empty mug on the table. Levi rolled his eyes and averted his gaze, picking at the edges of his napkin. The only thing that could possibly help him relax now was this stressful day coming to an end._

_“Levi,” Mike began, waiting until Levi looked at him again before continuing, “ I know this isn’t what either of us expected when we said we wanted to see each other again...but regardless of what happened before, the relationship we have now is a professional one.” He extended his hand over the table and waited for Levi to meet him halfway._

_There was nothing more business-like than a handshake, and nothing as glaringly unintimate. Knowing it was for the best, and hoping such a simple action would be the final hurdle in putting the muddled emotions he had to rest, Levi reached out to take the proffered hand. After a quick shake he released his grip and went to pull back, but Mike was keeping a firm hold on him. He was about to complain, however he didn't get the chance as Mike stood and leaned forward._

_And kissed him._

_It was short, barely giving Levi enough time to register the firmness of Mike’s lips on his own before it was over, but it left him reeling._

_“You call that professional?!” he asked tersely, his voice hitting a pitch that it hadn’t since he was thirteen._

_“That,” Mike said smugly as he sat back down and released Levi’s hand, “was strictly off the record.”_

_“Son of a bi-”_

_“Um...more coffee?”_

_Levi clamped his mouth shut and whipped his head around to stare at the waitress standing next to the table, holding a fresh pot of coffee and fiercely blushing. Mike nodded yes and thanked her as Levi sunk into the booth, trying, for once, to make himself shorter. He tried to ignore how she kept glancing back and smiling as she scurried around to the rest of the patrons, the blush still coloring her cheeks._

_Mortified, Levi groaned and put his face in his hands. After a few moments he mustered up the courage to peek between his fingers and glare at Mike, who sat there cool as a cucumber as he stirred more sugar into his refreshed cup of coffee. Then Levi watched with wide eyes as the man licked the spoon he was using clean, staring at Levi the entire time._

_Levi swallowed hard. This man knew exactly what he was doing. This man, this glorious hunk of man, was fucking with him._

_“You’re an ass,” Levi spat as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat._

_Mike chuckled and Levi shivered at the sound. It was all very unfair and Levi was about to tell him that, but Mikasa returned from the bathroom, and Mike got up to pay the bill, so Levi was forced to bite his tongue. He stood up, punishing the floor tiles with his intense glare, and left the diner, Mikasa in tow and Mike following behind moments later._

…Levi sighed deeply and put his head on his desk.

The “diner incident,” as he would come to call it in his head, had left him drained. Some of the stress from said incident still rested in his shoulders and the confusion he had was more overwhelming than ever.

A knock made him jolt out of his thoughts and he lifted his head to find Mikasa standing in the doorway of his makeshift office. He was about to ask what she needed when a grumble sounded from her stomach. The guilt hit him like a freight train - they hadn’t eaten dinner yet. Levi opened his mouth to apologize, but his stomach beat him to the punch by making a gurgling noise even louder and lengthier than Mikasa’s. Embarrassment lighting his cheeks, he began running through some ideas of what he could manage to throw together quickly when Mikasa spoke.

“Pizza?”

Bless this child.

“Pizza,” Levi agreed, fishing his phone out of his pocket and dialing the number for the pizza shop down the street.

The delivery boy was at their door thirty minutes later, toting a large pie with pepperoni and, at Mikasa’s request and to Levi’s surprise, black olives. They both stacked their plates with food and then, armed with napkins and drinks, they sat on the couch and watched reruns of some 80s sitcom until Levi’s eyes began to droop. He roused himself and looked to his side and saw that Mikasa’s were doing the same.

Gathering their now empty plates and glasses, Levi dumped them in the sink to be washed in the morning. He nudged Mikasa into a slightly more wakeful state and ushered her towards the bathroom, waiting in the hall as she got ready for bed, and then following suit once she was done. They said goodnight to each other as, like the night before, Mikasa tucked herself in and Levi turned off the bedroom light, leaving the door slightly ajar. Going to his own room, Levi flung himself on the bed, barely managing to curl up in the sheets before he fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We should do something. Somewhere. Together,” Levi finished lamely, staring at the ground. That had not gone as he had rehearsed at all.
> 
> “You mean like a date?” Mike teased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bird! It's a plane! No...it's an UPDATE!!! *dramatic victory fanfare plays in the distance*
> 
> In all seriousness, though, I am sorry this took me so long. Between my job and helping around the house, my summer was very busy so this story was put on the back burner on very very low heat. BUT since summer is coming to an end updates will no longer be a thing of myth or fantasy, they will actually exist, haha.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has commented, given kudos, etc! And even during my long ass absence. You are all so awesome I can't even! I hope this chapter was worth the wait (and again, you guys are so perfect, ilu)!!!

"Who are you?"

Eren, much like Levi, was not a person with a lot of tact. Add to that a resolute passion about nearly everything and a short temper, and he could be quite the handful.

“Oi,” Levi placed his hand on Eren’s head and vigorously fluffed his hair, only relenting once the boy began to squirm, “is that how you greet new people?”

“So what if it is?”

“So it sucks. Try again.”

Eren pouted and glared at Levi, then Mikasa, then Levi again, then the floor, his eyebrows becoming more drawn together and his cheeks puffing up with unspoken words - whether he was reluctant to say them or couldn’t quite find the right ones Levi didn’t know, but at this rate they would be standing there all afternoon.

“What now? Are you constipated?”

“No!” Eren blurted loudly and turned to Mikasa, cheeks red. “I’m sorry….My name’s Eren. What’s yours?”

“...Mikasa.”

“Mikasa….That’s kinda pretty. Isn’t it pretty Armin?” He grabbed his brother’s arm and pulled him forward from where he was slightly hiding behind his brother. “This is my brother Armin. He’s sorta quiet, but he’s super smart and stuff. Armin, don’t just stand there, you should shake her hand.” He took his Armin’s wrist and Mikasa’s and forced their hands together, pumping them up and down. “Come on, say hi, it’s only polite,” he added and Levi raised his eyebrows in amusement at the irony that was Eren lecturing Armin about manners.

Armin, after greeting MIkasa, had the decency to introduce their parents, both of whom waved and said hello. Levi was impressed by Hange’s ability to keep herself in check, especially when it looked like she was vibrating with the need to grab the girl and hug her into submission.

“Can we go play now?” Eren asked impatiently, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Yeah, yeah.” Levi dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “But take off your shoes first. And don’t make a mess!” he added as an afterthought as the three of them scampered off, Eren in the lead holding both Armin and Mikasa’s hands and dragging them along behind him.

As soon as they turned the corner Hange squealed a little. “Levi, she’s so cute! And she looks so much like you! Is she a long lost sister or something?”

“Niece. She’s my niece. Don’t be daft,” Levi said as he walked to the kitchen, Hange and Erwin following along as soon as they had removed their shoes and lined them up neatly near the door. He put the kettle under the tap and began to fill it with water. “So why are you here?”

“Do we need a reason to visit a friend?” Erwin asked in reply.

Levi wanted to say yes, but it would have been a blatant lie. He was actually very happy to see them. Their presence provided Levi with a sense of normalcy; something he hadn’t felt since that phone call from the courthouse only five days ago.

“I suppose not,” he answered instead, setting the pot on the stove. “You guys want something to drink?”

“Please,” Erwin said.

Hange nodded, smiling, but as soon as she was handed her cup and studied Levi’s face she turned serious. “You look a little rough. Why didn’t you call us?”

“Because I didn’t think of it. I had other stuff on my mind. It was a long week.” A long week that was going to turn into an even longer six months. He was already exhausted. “I’m going to screw something up, I just know it,” he mumbled.

“Oh, Levi,” Erwin chided. “You don’t have to be so nervous. Despite what you think, you’re good with kids. Look at how you are with Armin and Eren.”

“Completely different.” The kettle clicked, indicating the water was ready. They went to the living room with full cups and sat down, Hange and Erwin on the couch and Levi in the chair across from them, before he continued. “I’ve known the two of them since they were shitting their own pants. Besides it’s not just that, it’s...” Levi trailed off, staring at the tea in his cup. He was torn between telling the two about Mike or not. On the one hand they could definitely give him some sound advice. On the other they would definitely annoy him with their unlimited curiosity and prying questions. Levi glanced back up and found that Hange and Erwin were both staring at him expectantly. “It’s nothing,” Levi said quickly, taking a large swallow of his tea and hoping they would take the hint that he didn’t want to talk about it after all.

“Really?” Erwin intoned.

“I smell a story!” Hange set her tea down and scooted to the edge of the couch, the smile returning to her face as she leaned forward, her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, attentive. “Spill.”

“I told you, it’s nothing.”

“Aw, come on!” Hange wheedled.

“No.”

“Levi,” they said in unison, and he knew there was no escaping their scrutiny until he told them _something_.

“So there’s this guy…”

“Yes?”

“That I me at this bar…”

“Go on.”

“...And he’s also the social services worker for Mikasa.”

When he finished he expected some sort of reprimand or astonished remark or something. Something other than absolute silence. He cocked an eyebrow at them.

“You don’t have anything to say?”

“Well, you’re not giving us much to go on.” Hange leaned back and put her hands on her hips. “We need more details in order to form any sort of opinion. Like is he...tall perhaps? Facial hair?”

“Would you say he has a good nose?” Erwin added tapping the side of his own.

Levi narrowed his eyes, allowing the silence to stretch in the room between them. When he saw Hange’s mouth briefly twitch into a smile he slammed his cup down on the coffee table and snarled. “You bastards, you already knew!”

“Guilty as charged!” Hange cackled.

“How?!”

“Mike told us, of course,” Erwin replied.

“What? But...what?” Levi stared at them dumbfounded.

“We had dinner the other night,” Erwin answered, and upon getting a look from Levi that said he would need more explanation than that, he continued. “I’ve known him for years, since we were teenagers, and we went to the same college. He was the one to introduce us to each other,” he indicated Hange with a tilt of his head. “So we get together from time to time to have dinner and just chat. He is also Armin and Eren’s godfather,” he added as if commenting on the weather.

“He got Nile and Marie together, too, didn’t he?”

 

Erwin nodded. “Oh, speaking of. If we saw you Nile told us to tell you, and I quote, ‘Get your ass in gear,’ because he apparently does not need another deadline scare like this last one.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “Tell him I hope he can’t take a shit for a week. Then we’ll see who needs to get their ass in gear. But who cares about Nile. What did Mike say to you at this dinner exactly?”

Hange and Erwin looked at each other knowingly and smiled.

“Don’t just sit there and grin at each other like idiots. _Tell me_.”

“Oh my gosh, Levi, you liiike him,” Hange sing-songed.

“Shut up.”

Hange cleared her throat to dispel the laughter that had begun to bubble there. “Well, he didn’t mention your name specifically,” she began. “Something about client confidentiality and all that. But he did tell us about this grumpy guy-”

“I am not _grumpy_.”

“This grumpy guy,” Erwin continued as Hange stuck her tongue out at Levi, “he was assigned to observe and that he had consequently met at a bar only a few nights previously. And, with a bit more prying, we figured out it was you.”

“And in all this time you’ve known the two of us you didn’t think to, oh I don’t know, introduce us?” Levi asked, voice edged with sarcasm, mouth curved into a frown.

“Please don’t give me such a sour look.” Erwin held up his hands in defense. “He just moved here a few months ago from halfway across the country and we wanted him to be settled in. We _were_ going to introduce the two of you eventually, but, as it turned out, you both beat us to the punch.”

“It’s fate!” Hange cupped her cheeks with her hands and grinned.

“It’s complicated is what it is.”

“Drama queen,” Hange said poking at Levi’s foot with her own under the table.

“Shitty four eyes.” Levi trapped her foot between both of his, smirking in triumph until Hange’s other foot entered the fray and her heel hit him soundly on the shin. He hissed in pain.

“Now, now.” Erwin placed his hand on Hange’s leg to stay the escalating foot war and save the coffee table from its certain overturning. “In all fairness, though, you are being a little bit of a bitch about it, Levi.”

Levi snorted and rolled his eyes. “Sue me. I don’t know what to do,” he said rubbing his abused leg.

“Just make the most of it!”

“Hange is right. There are plenty of people who have a relationship where they need to separate the professional from the personal and they manage it very well.”

“I mean, you already slept with him, so what do you have to lose?”

“Not helping, Hange,” Levi sighed and rubbed his temples.

“Start small, Levi. Coffee, a movie, dinner,” Erwin ticked off the possibilities on his fingers. “It’s all about communication.”

*  
*  
*

Erwin’s advice was easier given than taken. Levi was a person who avoided most conversations and only contributed to the ones he had to with poor toilet humor and snide remarks, so being told to simply talk to someone was very difficult.

He had prepared multiple things he wanted to say, and how to say them, to Mike. But when the opportunities came he blanked. For three weeks his courage, mustered at the beginning of every day, became nonexistent as soon as he came face to face with Mike. And this, the fourth week, was not going to be any better, Levi knew, because he had other more pressing things to be concerned about.

“Eren, I swear if you don’t get down off that countertop-”

“I’m not gonna fall!” Eren said even as he teetered precariously on his tip-toes.

Levi actually wasn’t too worried about Eren slipping and taking a nose dive to the kitchen floor. He had seen the kid tumble almost fifteen feet out of a tree and pop back up as if he had just woken from a nap, more energetic than ever. The kid was resilient. His chinaware, which Eren was currently stacking one by one into his arms, however, was not.

He contemplated just grabbing Eren off of the countertop, but didn’t want to risk the sudden action causing the mess he was trying to avoid in the first place, so he hovered restlessly close instead. Mikasa, at his side like a little shadow, did the same.

“Eren, please come down,” Armin pleaded, wringing his hands together as he tried to reason with his brother. “You could get hurt. Levi can get the plates for you.”

“But he’s so short!” the bald kid, Connie, said immediately after.

“Connie’s right,” Jean agreed. “He’d probably have to stand on the counter, too.”

Levi’s mouth curved into a deeper frown and he narrowed his eyes at the two boys. Little shits.

“Whatever, horse face, like you could do any better!”

“Bet I could!”

“Nuh-uh!”

And with that Jean put his hands on the counter next to Eren and began to hoist himself up, Connie cheering him on.

“Nooo no no no.” Levi grabbed Jean around the middle to move him away from the countertop but the boy clung to it, his hands rigid like clamps around the edge. Levi tugged gently but insistently and still he wouldn’t budge. “Jean, I swear if you don’t let go of that countertop-”

“Mr. Levi.” There was a tug at Levi’s pants and he looked down into the wide brown eyes staring up at him.

“Yes, Sasha?” he sighed, ceasing his battle with Jean but not allowing him to wiggle out of his grip to continue his climb.

“Where’s the bathroom?”

“The same place it was when you asked a few hours ago.”

“Um…”

“Mikasa, please.”

Mikasa looked at him then Sasha and nodded, taking the other girl’s hand and leading her down the hallway to the bathroom, throwing looks of concern over her shoulder every few seconds.

And then the doorbell rang.

“Food’s here!” Connie shouted running to the door.

Levi didn’t know what was more alarming: the fact that Eren’s attention had been diverted so quickly and he suddenly jumped off of the counter leaving Levi to awkwardly balance plates between his arm and the edge of the cupboard or Sasha stampeding down the hall, her eyes alight with a feral hunger.

“Don’t open it until I get there!” he shouted, securing the plates and setting them down on the island in the kitchen. There was the jiggle of a knob and a soft click and Levi sighed, knowing they hadn’t listened.

“Aw, it’s just Mike!” he heard Eren grumble.

It was the fastest Levi had ever moved.

“Good to see you too, Eren,” Mike chuckled. He looked up at Levi as he rounded the corner from the kitchen. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Only one of the worst experiences of my life,” Levi answered. He was answered, in turn, by several small cries of indignation. “It’s true, you’re all brats.”

“What do you expect, we’re bored,” Jean said, Eren nodding in agreement. It was amazing how they could go from arch enemies to best friends in the blink of an eye.

“And hungry,” Sasha chimed in.

“And _bored_ ,” Jean emphasized crossing his arms. “We’ve been here _all day_.”

Levi sighed and looked at Mike imploringly.

“Why not take them to the park?” Mike suggested, rather unhelpfully, Levi thought, because the eruption of excited gasps and babbling that followed had Levi knowing that they would be even more unruly than before.

“Can we go? Really?”

“I wanna go down the slide.”

“I’m gonna play on the monkey bars!”

“Bet I can hold on longer than you!”

“No way, Jean!”

“Ha! Sasha will last longer than both of you!”

“Shush!” Levi said tersely. “No park unless you all behave. Which means you need to go sit on the couch. Right now. Until lunch is here. _Quietly._ ”

They grumbled but, thankfully, listened and Levi watched as they scampered into the living room.

“Hange said you’d be fine,” Mike said once they were left alone by the door.

“She’s a liar,” Levi answered and sighed.

After Erwin and Hange had learned of his newly acquired role of guardian he had been introduced to the parents of Eren’s and Armin’s, and soon to be Mikasa’s, group of friends. He already knew Eld and Gunther, which, thankfully, made the get togethers they all had a little less awkward. And then, a short time later, he found himself agreeing to watch the kids a few days every week for the rest of the summer. What had possessed him Levi still didn’t know, but he was sure it had something to do with the inability to resist the pathetic pleading looks of eight hopeful adults combined with some very strong cocktails made a la Hange.

“From what I saw you aren’t doing that bad.”

“But you were worried and came anyway.”

Mike grinned.

“Thank you...” Levi said, coughing to hide his embarrassment. “Suggesting I take them outside, though? Are you crazy? I’ll probably lose them or something. You even try and leave now and I’ll break your legs.”

“I suppose I could manage to stay. It would be a good opportunity to observe how Mikasa interacts with children her age.”

“You made that up just now, didn’t you?”

“No, not entirely. It is important.”

“So, in essence, you’ll be getting paid to watch me suffer?”

“More or less.”

“Asshole.” But he was smiling and he couldn’t help but think that the day would probably turn out alright...until he heard Eren shout.

“I know! Since I got the plates, I’ll get the cups, too, so we can eat and get to the park faster!”

“Eren, don’t you dare!” He sped to the kitchen, Mike laughing in the background.

*  
*  
*

“She really did outlast them both,” Levi mused.

Halfway across the playground Eren and Jean were sitting on the ground beneath the monkey bars shaking the numbness out of their limbs while Sasha whooped in triumph and swung back and forth from bar to bar. Connie taunted them from the roundabout where he, Armin, and Mikasa spun lazily in a circle. He shot off screaming and laughing moments later when the two jumped up and started chasing him around the basketball court.

“Do they ever stop being so…,” Levi twirled his hand around as he searched for an appropriate word, “bouncy?”

“Eventually.”

“And do they ever stop being dirty?” he asked as he watched Connie jump into a puddle and splash his legs with muddy water.

“Never,” Mike chuckled. “Oh, I think I’m being summoned.”

Levi looked up and noticed Sasha, having jumped down from the monkey bars, backpedaling towards the swings, Armin and Mikasa already there, and flagging Mike down with both arms.

“Try not to launch them into space,” he said as Mike got up from the bench they shared. Levi definitely did not watch Mike’s ass as he walked away, except he definitely did and it made him close his eyes and sigh, slightly mortified with himself.

It was pathetic. He could unabashedly eye the man’s ass, but he couldn’t ask him to dinner.

In all fairness, though, he _had_ tried. On the way to the park he was about to nonchalantly ask Mike what he did on weekends, but Armin had spoken first to ask why Levi’s hand, which he was holding as they crossed the street, was so sweaty and why he was so warm and was he sick, should they call a doctor? And when they had sat down on the bench he was going to comment on a really good restaurant he knew about, and invite Mike to it, but instead what came out of his mouth was ‘This is the most uncomfortable fucking bench ever.’

Why was he so bad at this? Why was he so nervous? Why was he, as Erwin so eloquently put it, being such a little bitch about it?

He was still silently berating himself when the bench slightly shook and he opened his eyes to see that Mike had returned.

“The jungle gym became more enticing,” he said in explanation when Levi raised an eyebrow at him - he hadn’t been gone for more than five minutes after all. And true to what he said, the entire group of them were now crawling over the jungle gym, pretending it was a pirate ship if the random yells of ‘Arr!’ and ‘Ahoy matey!’ and ‘But I wanna be captain!’ were anything to go by.

They sat there for a few moments in silence until Levi decided that, fuck it, this was ridiculous, he was just going to say something.

“So...Saturday,” he began.

“Saturday?”

“Yeah.”

Mike slightly cocked his head and stared at Levi patiently.

“We should do something. Somewhere. Together,” Levi finished lamely, staring at the ground. That had not gone as he had rehearsed at all.

“You mean like a date?” Mike teased.

“Call it whatever you want,” Levi mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and feigning indifference even though he could feel the warmth of a blush starting to burn his cheeks.

“I’d love to.” Mike said, moving his leg over so that their knees were touching. When Levi chanced a glance up at his face he was all smiles under that stupid mustache.

“Idiot…” Levi tsked, but he didn’t move his leg away.


End file.
